Chapter 1

Jack and Maddi

Ten years after infection, people have set up small settlements and begun repairing civilization. Despite being a better alternative to living amongst the bandits, settlements often get infected, and fall apart.

My name is Jack, or at least, that's what they called me...I was seventeen, a zombie outbreak happened about ten years prior. It was March tenth, 2014, and it seemed like a normal day. It all started normally, I got up, said goodbye to my mom, and went to school, but little did I know that this was the last I'd see of her.

Of course, I didn't stay in school, I just went for a few hours until my mom went to work. The I went home around noon, grabbed my bow, a compound bow with a black finish, a black leather quiver, and eight arrows. Then I went hunting outside of the settlement's borders. I came back early that day, I'd usually be gone until nightfall, but the deer weren't as active as I'd hoped. I got into town, and there was no one, not a single fucking person.

I brushed it off as nothing more than another damn riot at the town hall. Soon, my home was in sight, and yes, I walked. I opened the door and my mom was kneeling over a pool of blood. "Mom?" I said. She just sat there, so I walked over and put a hand on her shoulder. Then I saw it...the bite mark. The bite looked human. The next thing I noticed that she was covered in blood, most noticeably around her mouth. Suddenly, and without warning, my mom snapped at me, literally! She tried to bite me! Well, tried is an understatement. She bit me on my wrist, just barely missing the artery.

I kicked her in the face, ran with my bow slung on my back, and jumped on my motor bike. As soon as the coast was clear, I took out my hunting knife and cut my sleeve into strips to make a tournequet for my wound. Just then, I realized what had just happened. My mom had become a Zombie, and I had just been bitten. I tried my best to remain calm, and I kept my cool. I showed no signs of turning, so I just started my bike and went on my way. I decided to head for my uncle's house in Chernogosk. So I left my town with my head held high.

I drove for what felt like an eternity. The infection spread fast, just driving down an empty highway I saw whole packs of six or seven of them. I was passing through Petrovka, when I saw a girl. She looked about my age, so around sixteen or seventeen, and She was pretty. Her auburn hair, crystal clear blue eyes, and light skin looked beautiful in the sunlight. She had a katana on her back, and a Baretta (a handgun) in her hands. "Hey!" I called out to her, shutting off my motorbike. She looked at me, then saw my arm.

"Stop!" She pointed the Baretta at me. "Where'd you get that wound!" She shouted. "I-I just took a piece of shrapnel. I swear!" She lowered the gun. "Alright, what do you want? Or are you just wasting my time?" She said sternly. I patted my Motorbike, and offered her a seat. "Thought you could use a lift." She sighed, and got on the back of my bike. "Where to?" I asked. "I've got family in Elektro. You goin' that far?" I nodded. "What's your name?" She thought for a moment."Just call me Maddi."

I hit the kickstart on my bike, and the engine roared to life. "Call me Jack." I said as I opened up the throttle. "Hold on!" Maddi jerked backwards as the bike took off at top speed.

We rode for about twelve hours before we decided to stop and rest for the night. After starting a decent fire, Maddi set down her backpack and pulled out some spare clothes. "Turn around, and no peeking!" I did as she asked, but my curiosity got the best of me. I took a mirror out of my bag, and just barely caught a glimpse of her breasts. They were perky, and at least Ds. She pulled on her top, and I stuffed the mirror in my bag as she turned around. She looked at me, her face a little flush.

"Y-you didn't peek...did you?" "N-no, of course n-not." I lied. She sat down, now dressed in tan cargo shorts and a flannel shirt. I got up and pulled some clothes out of my bag too. "Hey, no peeking for you either." I joked. I changed into a green camouflage Jacket, a blue My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic t-shirt, and some camouflage cargo pants. "So, where are you from?" I asked. "Oh, just some backwoods place in Sobor. Yourself?" "A little dirt road near Cherno. I'm headed there actually. My uncle's got a place up there, haven't heard anything from him in a while though. I hope he's alright."

Maddi let out a loud yawn and laid down next to me with her head on my lap. I'm not gonna lie, it was nice having a girl so close to me. It was...refreshing, especially due to the outbreak. The morning came almost too soon, as Maddi woke up. "Good morning, sleep well?" I asked with a flirty tone. I burst out into laughter as I watched Maddi's face turn beet red when she realized that she'd fallen asleep using my lap as a pillow. "Come on, we've gotta move."

Maddi and I packed up our bags, and took off on the bike. We had been driving for hours, and the bike was low on fuel. I saw a sign that said there was a gas station just a few miles up the road, so I sped up and saw the gas station within minutes. I pulled up and shook Maddi awake from her nap. "Unngh, what is it?" Maddi said with a grumble. "We need some fuel, so go inside and see if there's any food left." She rubbed her eyes, and drew her Katana. She must have taken kendo, because she wielded it well. Perfect form, perfect stance, a nice body...sorry, I'm trailing off. Maddi went inside while I began fueling.

Maddi let out a shriek, and came running with a scared look on her face. "Maddi, what happened?!" She pointed inside the convinient store, and I went in with my knife at the ready. I looked around and saw only a small mouse. "Aww, was it you that had her so upset?" I said as I let the mouse sit in my palm. "I'll call you Ricky. Now go on back home Ricky." I let the mouse down, and wiped off my hands. After filling my bag with lots of chips and canned goods, I filled an extra fuel can somebody left behind, and we took off again.

"Hey, Maddi?" I said. "What, Jack?" "You think there's anyone else left out there?" She sighed "of course, how can we be the only survivors left?" She had a point. "Maddi, did you have a boyfriend. I mean, before the outbreak?" She looked like she'd seen a ghost, while she pondered my question. "It's getting late, we should make camp soon." I only said that to change the subject.

We stopped, and camped for the night. When the morning came, we wasted no time in getting back on the road.

About three hours later, we came upon a group of survivors. "Hey!" One of them called. We parked the bike, and walked over, our weapons readied. "Wait, please! We just wanted to ask if you had any food." A man asked. "Yea, we've got some canned stuff." I said foolishly. Suddenly, a man grabbed Maddi, and put a knife to her throat. "Give us the bags, or she dies!" He threatened. I dropped my bags, I could just hunt for more if need be, and he dropped Maddi. "The bike, we'll take that too." "No way, I'll die before you leave us stranded." I told him. He knocked Maddi unconscious, and put a gun to her head. "I'm takin' her, and the bike. Now hand over the keys!" I tossed him the keys, and they loaded up trucks. "Cya, dumbass!" He yelled.

After they were out of sight, I tracked them through the woods. They had a whole camp, and tons of food. Maddi was tied up, but thankfully, unharmed. I scouted out the camp, there were two towers at the main gate. They held high powered rifles, and night vision goggles. And five guards patrolled the perimeter, with AK-47s. Then there was the man who took Maddi. I had no doubt that he intended to rape her, so I had to act fast. My clothes kept me from being seen, so I drew my bow, and shot down one of the snipers. He hit the ground, and the whole camp was over there. Then I snuck in.

I found Maddi, bound and gagged, by the cheif's house. I cut her binds, and got her out safely, but I went back. I had to show that you don't mess with Jack. I decided to eliminate the roving guards first. I crept up on one, covered his mouth, an jerked his head backwards so I could slice his jugular. The second faced the power of my bow to his throat. The third and fourth went down the same, and they had apparently repositioned the fifth at the guard post near the gate. Then I saw him, the chief himself emerged from his hut. I quickly took out the rest of the guards, and presented myself to him. "Hey, how's it goin'? Remember me? The guy who's bike you and your bandits stole!" I looked him in his big brown eyes. His muscular form made me look like a dwarf compared to him.

"Hah, so you showed up. Nice little stunt you pulled earlier." He showed me the arrow I had landed in the tower guard's neck the first time I visited. "Well guess what. I'm gonna get some payback fer that, asshole." He growled. I drew my knife, and prepared to fight. The bandit cheif threw a punch at me, but I sidestepped and cut the cheif across his face. "That all you got cheif? You're gonna have to be faster than that to hit me." I drove my hunting knife into the cheif's arm, causing him to squeal in pain. "Listen, you only stole my bike, so I'll let you live, but if I ever see you again, I won't hesitate to kill you." I threatened the cheif, then looked around for my bike.

"Aww man! Fucking stripped it for parts!" I shouted. Then I saw it. A large military grade humvee. Only, the bandits had kitted it out with extra metal plating, spiked bumpers, and put barbed wire around the opening on top. I drove down the road and stopped to pick up Maddi. "Hey Maddi! Look what the bandits gave me!" Maddi looked at me with shock. "Jack! What the hell is that!" "Umm, duh. It's a truck, and I took it from the bandit cheif. They stripped my bike, so I figured this'd be a suitable replacement. It even has a full tank of gas!" Maddi shrugged, and climbed in. "Oh! And I got you this."

I held out an AS50 sniper rifle, with a scope that had a Night Vision lense. "Found it while I was recollecting my arrows, I thought you'd like it." She blushed a little bit, taking the rifle and quickly inspected it. "Th-thanks, but what about ammo?" Look under the seat" I told her. She lifted up the seat to find about ten clips that held fifteen rounds each. "Wow! They had all this at their base?" I nodded. "Yea, I guess they raided a gun store."

We drove for days, stopping every night to sleep, until I saw a sign that said "Elektrozavodsk Welcomes you!" "Hey, Maddi, we're almost there." I shook her awake. "Huh?...wait, where are we?" I pointed ahead as it began to snow. "We're in Elektro." The next few hours flew by, as we saw the Elektro city limits sign. "Wow, I can't believe we finally made it!" Maddi shouted. "Thank you so much Jack." Maddi hugged me tightly, and I couldn't have been happier. "I love you" she said into by sleeve. I didn't say a word for the rest of the drive.

I remembered the bite mark on my wrist. What would Maddi think when I told her? Would she reject me? Would she try to kill me? Or would she just not say anything at all? I didn't know, and I didn't care, I just kept on driving.

We arrived at Maddi's house. She wasted no time running in. We walked around for a bit, there were signs of a struggle, broken lamps, overturned tables, and then we found her parents. Their flesh was gone, and their blood on the walls. Maddi dropped to her knees, and began crying. "I-I can't believe that they're...*sniff* dead..." I wrapped my arms around her and whispered into her ear "Maddi, I love you too.." And then she kissed me, my first kiss. It felt magical, like every form of happiness congealed into one single instant.

"Listen, Maddi, I have something you should see." I unwrapped the tournequet, and saw that the bite wound had begun to heal. "W-what?! But, there was a bite mark right here, and it's gone!" Maddi gasped in shock." Jack! You asshole! You lied to me!" "But Maddi, look! It's healed! You know what that means? I'm immune to the virus!" "And if you weren't? Then you'd have turned, and I would have killed you and..." Maddi fell silent.

"Maddi, look. I'm sorry I lied, but just think about what might have happened if I didn't. You might not have made it here, hell, you might even be dead, or worse." I joined in her silence. Then I heard moaning, It was just outside the house. "Shhh!" I crept up to a window and saw a zombie right outside. I grabbed a plank, and tossed it at a tree across the yard. The zombie darted after the sound, and I snuck up behind it and thrust my knife into its head. The zombie went down with a slight struggle, then I wiped my knife off and sheathed it at my side. "Maddi, lets go. There'll be more soon and-"

Maddi cut me off. "Jack, promise me that you'll be honest from here on out..." I sighed. "Maddi, I was being honest from the moment I said I loved you. That's why I felt you deserved to know. I would've told you sooner but...I didn't know how you'd react." My eyes welled with tears. Maddi put her hand on my shoulder and kissed me again. I wrapped my arms around her, and we stayed like that for a few minutes, until she slipped the keys from my back pocket.

"This time, I'm driving." She put on a cheeky smile, and hopped in the driver's seat. We sped off, and I said. "So, where to next?" Maddi looked at me, confused. "You still want to get to Cherno, right?" "Honestly, I think we should try and find this group called the Valkyries. Heard they were looking for a cure, and maybe I'm the answer. Last I heard, they were in Krasnostav." Maddi nodded, and we headed for Krasnostav.